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AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
"!Yfississippi they are all men 0£ honor industry and property a.nd ,v ould greatly promote the prosperity of this Country Nint~As we are near the :frontiers of Louisiana some Negro Slaves of that state may run away from their owners and Come to this Colony-vVhat am I authorised to do in such a Case 1 If the runaway remains here, he is a nuisance to the Country-if his owner claims him and he is not given up it will destroy all harmony be- tween the Citizens of that State and this-Also if a free man steals a Negro from that State and brings him here how is the Crime to be punished 1 This is certainly a very high Crime and I think that Justice requires it should be punished to the utmost extent-and that those who bring stolen Negroes into this State ought to be chastised by Whipping heavy fine and imprisonment to hard Labour but I submit the subject to the Consideration of the Government and solicit their instructions. Tenth,-Our Proximity to Louisiana also makes the Bunk paper of that state Current to a small extent here and we may therefore be greatly imposed on by Counterfeiters how am I authorized to punish a :Man Who brings a quantity of Counterfeit Bank paper into the Country to defraud the innocent Inhabitants who are not a judge of such money- I have made provisional regulations relative to some of these sub- jects whic'h have as yet fully protected us-but it would be more proper and satisfactory to receive the orders of [that] Government- Also I respectfully wish to know whether I am authorised to make any more temporary or provisional municipal regulations for the preservation of good order and good government in the Colony in Cases where We have not received the Laws and are unable to pro- cure them with translations- Villa de San Felipe Austin 22 de Deciembre de 1824 ESTEVAN F. AUSTIN [Rubric] [Part of another draft of this document, in Austin's hand, is en- dorsed by him:] Copies of representation sent to the Baron de Bastrop deputy in the Legislature of this State, to be translated and presented to the Governor of the State of Quahuila and Texas. [In this partial draft, which perhaps represents the first stage of the memorial, Austin wrote, and then deleted, two additional para- graphs:] . 7-In as much as I have so many other occupations to attend to in keeping good order-watchi~g and pursuing hostile India~s-and finally arranging all the busmess of the Colony, and also bemg un- • f rmed as to the laws of the nation and the state I wish if possible ~~a~ a Juez de Ietras might be appointed to decide appeals etc from
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